1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns communications systems generally and particularly concerns the use of a communications system to mediate transactions among entities reachable by the communications system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Communications systems such as the telephone system have long done more than simply connect a first entity to a second entity specified by the first entity. A number of forms of telephone service transform a first telephone number specifying an entity into a second such telephone number. FIG. 1 is a schematic overview of such telephone number transformation services. In the figure, a dashed line indicates a path for transmitting signalling information, while a solid line indicates a path for transmitting messages. In FIG. 1, entity 1 (E(1)) 105(1) is a caller wishing to communicate with entity 2 (E(2)) 105(2) via communications system (CS) 103. To initiate the communication, entity 1 105(1) employs a virtual destination identifier 111 which is different from the actual destination identifier used within communications system 103 to establish communication with the entity. Using a signalling path, entity 1 105(1) provides virtual destination identifier 111 to communications system 103. Switch 107 in communications system 103 is able to recognize virtual identifiers 111 from their forms. On recognizing that the destination identifier provided by entity 105(1) is a virtual destination identifier, switch 107 provides virtual destination identifier 111 via a signalling path to translator 115, a facility in communications system 103 which translates virtual destination identifiers 111 into actual destination identifiers 113. In making the translation, translator 115 uses destination identifier data base 117, which contains actual destination identifiers 113 corresponding to virtual destination identifiers 111. Once the translation is made, translator 115 provides actual destination identifier 113 to switch 107, which uses actual destination identifier 113 to connect entity 1 105(1) to entity 2 105(2) via a message path, as shown by solid arrow 109.
One example of such a service is the toll-free 800 service. In this service, which is described in detail in Weber, U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,860, Data Base Communication Call Processing Method, issued Mar. 4, 1980, customers throughout a given area use a telephone number which has 800 as a prefix to reach an entity. On receiving the 800 number, the telephone company's switching system generates a control message including the 800 number. The control message is sent to a data base system via the common channel interoffice signalling facilities (CCIS) used as a signalling path by the telephone company. The data base system uses the 800 number to obtain an unlisted telephone number for the entity and provides the unlisted number via a second CCIS message to the switching system, which uses the unlisted number to connect the customer to the entity to which the 800 number belongs and charges the call to the unlisted number.
As indicated in Weber, an 800-number call can be routed based on the area in which it originates. Consequently, 800 number service can be used as locator service. In such a service, a customer dials an 800 number designating sources of specific goods or services and is connected by the communications system to the source of such goods or services closest to the customer or to a recipient of the goods or services. One kind of locator service is described in detail in Riskin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,267, Telephone System for Connecting a Customer to a Supplier of Goods, issued Jul. 12, 1988. In Riskin's locator service, a non-telephone company owned data base system operating in a computer which is connected to a telephone switch determines from the 800 number the type of goods or services in which the customer is interested and determines from the caller's telephone number where the caller is located. The data base system then determines from a geographically-ordered list of dealers which dealer is closest to the customer and causes the switch to call the closest dealer and connect the dealer with the customer.
In one embodiment of Riskin's locator service, the caller's telephone number is provided to the data base system by the telephone company's Automatic Number Identification Service (ANI), while the 800 number is provided by the telephone company's Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS). In another embodiment, the non-telephone company-owned data base system would have access to the CCIS facility, and would receive the caller's telephone number and the 800 number via CCIS and would provide the telephone number of the closest dealer to the telephone system via CCIS. The telephone system would then connect the customer to the closest dealer. Further refinements disclosed by the Riskin reference include using digital voice to request telephone numbers from the caller if they are not provided by the telephone company via ANI or DNIS and using digital voice to inform the dealer of the kind of transaction being initiated by the customer.
As the Riskin reference shows, number translation systems can be quite complex. However, one characteristic which they all have in common is that the communications system 103 does nothing more than establish a path by means of which entities using the communications system may exchange messages. Communications system 103 plays no role whatever in whatever transaction between the entities may be accomplished by the messages.
In some instances, the communications system plays a role in the transaction itself. One example of such a system is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,908, Constantine R. Kraus, Buyer Credit Service for a Telephone System, issued Nov. 18, 1975. As disclosed at col. 2, line 28 through col. 4, line 11 of the reference, the system of Kraus provides credit information for a customer ordering by telephone to a vendor. When the customer calls to place an order, he uses a special class of telephone number. The telephone system provides the special number and the number of the telephone from which the customer is calling to a TSPS office. The TSPS office in turn sets up a connection between the vendor identified by the special telephone number and a credit center and provides the calling telephone number to the credit center. The credit center uses the calling telephone number to search a credit data base for credit information about the customer and transmits the credit information to the vendor. If the vendor finds the credit information satisfactory, he signals the TSPS office to that effect and the TSPS office then connects him with the customer.
Another is the system disclosed in John B. Medamana et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,258, Authenticated Communication Access Service, issued Jan. 19, 1993 and assigned to the assignees of the present patent application. In the system of the reference, if an entity such as a bank or a broker wishes to restrict access to a select set of customers, the entity provides an 800 number to the customers. The 800 number serves as a transaction identifier. When a switch receives the 800 number, it does not immediately set up the call to the unlisted number for the entity which corresponds to the 800 number; instead, it indicates to a transaction manager in the the telephone system that a call has arrived which it must mediate. The transaction manager employs the switch to obtain identification information from the calling party. The identification information may be the calling party's telephone number, obtained via ANI, or a personal identification number (PIN) which the customer enters using his touch tone telephone in response to digital voice prompts from the switch. The transaction manager then supplies the identification information to a third entity, which uses information in a transaction data base to determine whether the calling party is entitled to make the transaction. The third entity then provides transaction information to the transaction manager, if the calling party is entitled to make the transaction, the transaction information will contain further information about the transaction. The transaction manager informs the switch whether the transaction is permitted, and if it is, the switch makes the call to the second entity and provides it with the further information about the transaction.
A third example of the use of a communications system to mediate a transaction is found in Entenmann, et al., Use of Telecommunications Systems for Lotteries, U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,705, issued Feb. 26, 1991, and having the same assignee as the present patent application. This references discloses a system in which a lottery customer dials a telephone number to enter a lottery. The system determines either from the customer's phone number or a credit card number which it requests from him whether the customer is eligible to enter the lottery. If the customer is, the customer is prompted to provide information from which a number for the customer's entry in the lottery can be generated. The system then generates the number and determines whether the number is a winning number. If it is, it informs the customer that he has won, prints out a record of the transaction at the lottery office, and connects him to an operator, who records additional data supplied by the customer.
FIG. 2 presents an overview of a system 201 in which the systems just described might be implemented. In system 201, CS 202 mediates a transaction between entity 1 105(1) and entity 2 105(2) using information contained in a transaction data base (TDB) 209 belonging to a third entity 105(3). When entity 1 105(1) in system 201 wishes to make a transaction with entity 2 105(2), entity 1 105(1) provides communications system 202 with a transaction identifier 205 identifying the transaction. Included in transaction identifier 205 may be a virtual identifier for entity 2 105(2). When switch 105 receives transaction identifier 205, it sets up a message path between entity 1 105(1) and switch 107 and employs a technique such as digital voice to request input of transaction information 1 (TI(I)) 205 from entity 105(1). An example of such transaction information might be an identifier specifying that entity 1 may carry out the transaction. Switch 107 provides transaction information 1 207 to transaction manager 203, running in a processor which has access to switch 107. Transaction manager 203 further has access to entity 3 105(3), and provides transaction information 1 207 to entity 3. Entity 3 uses transaction information 1 207 to look up transaction information 2 207 in transaction data base 209 and provides transaction information 2 211 via a data link message path to transaction manager 203. If transaction information 2 211 indicates that entity 1 105(1) has the fight to make the transaction, transaction manager 203 provides a transaction OK (TOK) 212 signal indicating that the transaction is permitted to switch 107, which establishes message path 215 between switch 107 and entity 2 105(2). Transaction manager 203 then uses the message path to provide transaction information 1 207 and transaction information 2 211 to entity 2 105(2), which then uses message paths 213 and 215 to complete the transaction with entity 1 105(1). On the other hand, if transaction information 2 211 indicates that entity 1 105(1) does not have the fight to make the transaction, transaction manager 203 indicates to switch 107 via transaction OK 212 that the transaction is not permitted, and switch 107 does not establish path 215 and terminates path 213. In this case, transaction manager 203 may further cause switch 107 to provide a termination message via message path 213 to entity 1 105(1).
While the foregoing systems represent a significant advance over the number translation systems, these systems do not provide a general technique by means of which a communications system may mediate a transaction, nor do they take full advantage of the possibilities arising out of mediation of a transaction by the communications system. In particular, the references do not show how to make a telephone transaction interruptible or how to use a communications system to mediate an ordinary credit card transaction. It is thus an object of the present invention to provide such a general technique, and to permit the construction of improved systems for performing transactions using a communications system.